Alpha Noah

~Abella

The door opens slowly.

Noah looks at me through the crack of the door, before he holds it open widely. I give him a tightly smile, stepping inside out of the rain that has just started to come down.

“I’m glad you came,” he tells me lightly. Wiping the splattering of water from my hair, I swallow my pride. I’m here for many reasons. I want to hear him explain himself about what he said over a week ago, for one. Also, I want to talk to him about all the things that have been going on recently, since Cian obviously has his own strong opinions, and Sam will just panic.

“We really need to talk. I hope you’re ready to be honest this time,” I say coolly. Noah nods grimly, motioning for me to follow him. I do so, letting him lead me toward his living room, which is a change from all the times he’s brought me into his dining room.

He looks at me over his shoulder. “I am. And I hope you will be too.”

My stomach twists over, as we come into the living room. I take a seat on one of his leather couches, which is cold under my bare legs. I’m already uncomfortable, but this time I made the foolish decision to wear shorts in the rain. Thankfully, the sight of Noah sitting opposite me takes my mind of the feeling of my bare skin sticking to the surface.

“I’m assuming that expression means Cian told you more about me than you bargained for,” I say uneasily. His mouth twists slightly, drawing my attention down to those full lips and perfectly refined jawline. For a mortal, he really does have a natural beauty.

“I know you’re an immortal now,” he admits with a dark tone that makes me shiver. My eyes close as an automatic reaction. “Do you want to tell me why it happened?”

My entire body freezes.

There’s a pointed seriousness in his eyes that I haven’t seen from him before. It’s coming from a genuine place, like he cares about me how a married man would care for his partner. He’s brooded over this since the meeting with Cian, and it’s affected him greatly. Just thinking about that makes me shiver. How much does Noah care, despite hardly knowing me?

“You’re not my close friend Noah, first of all,” I say, trying to set up boundaries in case he really does feel like that. “But if you must know, I actually have no idea who did it, or why it happened. It was a powerful man who approached me and made me swallow a pill.”

Explaining it only makes me more frustrated. Every time I go back in time to that moment, the man is a blurred figure, his dialogue strong in some places, weak in others.

He knew I would forget him, no doubt.

“Do you think he intended for you to be brought back as an immortal?” Noah asks, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair and his chin on his palm. His words make me blink back into a moment of subconsciousness. It’s a question I’ve been too afraid to ask recently.

“I honestly don’t know, and I don’t want to know,” I tell him firmly. I wish I could explain exactly what is streaming through my head. “But I have a feeling he’s not done with me.”

“You should stay here, where you’re safe,” Noah says firmly. There’s not an ounce of humour in his voice. Maybe I expect it because I’m so used to Cian hemming every serious word he has to say with some kind of joke. But with Noah, I can feel every emotion weighing upon me, even though I know if I delved deeper to find the root of that meaning, I would find nothing but a large locked door in my face.

“No offense Noah, but you’re just an Alpha. Don’t you think I would better off with my mate, who is an immortal?” I question, biting the edge just like he had a moment ago. These words feel wrong, even if I know they are right.

“Cian is the one who put you in this situation to begin with,” he reminds me. “And being in the immortal realm is the worst place for you.”

He might be right, but I have to remember what he said. “At least Cian can be honest with me.”

Noah doesn’t even flinch. He knows I’m right. He gets to his feet, promptly disappearing out the room. I don’t follow him, although my heart does fall to the pit of my stomach. He returns before I have time to get truly concerned. He’s holding two glasses of water in his hand, which one he hands to me. Even in these moments he cares enough to be hospitable. A lot goes into being an Alpha.

“Trust me, Cian keeps his secrets just as much as the next man,” he tells me while I sip my water slowly. The refreshing cold hits me. “He just does a better job.”

“You could prove to me now that you’re a good man. You could tell me how you know him,” I say, tipping my glass at him. Noah owes me that much, at least. Cian will just twist my words or distract me if I try get answers out of him.

Noah looks uneasily. “Cian an I…share a common interest.”

“Is this about the meeting you had?” I ask. Since I bumped into Cian this afternoon, I’ve been desperate to know what they discussed. “Because I have a right to know what it was about.”

“We were talking about a contract we had, that he broke. Now I just have to hope that he has enough decency to keep his end of the deal regardless,” he says, his tone turning grave, sounding as though he doesn’t believe it himself. I’ll admit, I don’t trust Cian either, and I doubt I will any time soon. Immortals are tricky.

I lick my lips anxiously. “Does this deal involve me?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Cian and I will have nothing to do with each other anymore,” he says calmly, although I don’t believe him. Him and Cian’s relationship is deeper than he is letting on, and it isn’t about to let up.

“Why? If he’s done something bad to you, then I have a right to know, as his mate. He could make me move to the immortal world and I know nothing about him,” I exasperate.

“Don’t do this…that, I mean. Don’t move to the immortal realm with him. His life is what got you into that situation in the first place, okay,” Noah says, his tone practically pleading. “Cian and I have known each other for years. His lifestyle hurt me too.”

“How so? If I can ask…”

“I was young, and he took an interest in me for some reason. He would take me to parties, get me drunk. I had no idea what he saw in me until…I realised I had something in common with him that would ensure that we would forever be in each other’s lives. Even if we hated each other more than anything in this world,” Noah admits, refusing to meet by gaze.

My heart jumps into my throat. I knew this was deep, but I had no idea Cian was the puppet master behind all this, according to Noah. I should have assumed…

Immortals are tricky like that.

“You’re not going to tell me what that is, are you?” I ask, referring to what they could possibly have in common. In my opinion, they couldn’t be further unalike. I mean, Noah is cool and brooding, while Cian is taunting and unserious. “I mean, you don’t need to. History is history.”

Noah appears unsettled. “I just want you to know, that what Cian has done to me all these years was easy for him. Lying and manipulating comes easy to him. I’m afraid he might hurt you.”

“So why did you say all those things to me,” I ask, remembering the night last week. It still haunts me, if I allow myself to consider it. I’ve known Noah for a month now, maybe two, so I can’t decide why he would want to suddenly confess his love to me. “Why did you tell me to be with you?”

“To protect you. I’m stupid and selfish, I know,” he admits sheepishly, although a chill down my spine suggests to me that there is more to it than what is being let on. “You’re the first person who has ever come into my life and seen me as more than a powerful Alpha. You’ve both tolerated and hated me, which is more than most people do.”

“Cian is my mate,” I find myself saying.

It’s not the first time I’ve said that to him, although this time he doesn’t flinch nor appear offended. There is a flicker of some unknown emotion in his eye, but he conceals is quicker than it came to be. I feel wrong saying to it to him, especially in a defensive manner, as if my entire body repulses at the words coming from my mouth. Noah doesn’t deserve this.

“I wish things were different,” he murmurs, sweeping a hand back through his hair. He bites his lip, a frown etched into his forehead. He’s hiding something, still, but I’m done pressing. If can be honest with me when he pleases. “One day things may be.”

I loosen a breath, giving him a soft smile. I like Noah, and I hope that despite everything, him and I can still be friends.

“I should go. It’s getting late,” I tell him.

Noah nods, reaching his hand out to help me up off the couch, before pulling his hand back. I frown at his hesitation to touch me, but push it out of my mind. Regardless, I let him lead me to the door.

My life may be complicated, but hopefully Noah can be something simple. Even if I know he has secrets. And even if I know they are surely darker than anything I’ve witnessed before.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.